Human Stories : Digital Experience

“Digital Loray” curates the long, complex history of Gastonia, North Carolina’s iconic Loray Mill and the surrounding mill village. We use digital tools and technologies to tell the human stories of this place, from the Loray’s opening as a textile mill in 1902, through its operation as a Firestone plant between 1935-1993, to its renovation and reopening as a mixed-use development in 2015. As a public history project, our goal is to engage members of the Loray, Firestone, and mill village communities — past and present, local and distant — as active participants in our work.